


Redemption

by ZoneRobotnik



Series: Filling the Blanks [3]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Varian just wants to be a good boy, sequel to "On the Run"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24890005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik
Summary: After defeating the Saporians, Varian and Rapunzel make a difficult choice to save the city. Rapunzel sends Varian back to the city, leaving him to pick up the pieces while she saves the day.
Relationships: Quirin & Varian (Disney), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Series: Filling the Blanks [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801066
Comments: 21
Kudos: 73





	Redemption

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [On the Run](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24795601) by [ZoneRobotnik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik). 



> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

Varian clung to the railing of the damaged airship as he and Rapunzel were carried away. The Saporians had been thrown off earlier, saved from certain death by his bubble bombs accidentally hitting them, and now they only had the Quirineon to worry about.  
  
He looked towards the burner that was keeping them afloat, hovering over the city of Corona. “That single burner cannot generate enough heat to keep this ship in the air.” He said grimly. “If it crashes, it will destroy _all_ of Corona.” He looked towards Rapunzel, who was clinging to the railing as tightly as he was.  
  
“What if we use the Quirineon?” She suggested, urgency in her eyes.  
  
Varian’s brilliant mind quickly calculated the outcome of that possibility. “Yes. Yes! Heating the Quirineon _will_ increase the temperature enough for the balloons to rise.” He confirmed. “We just have to get it high enough so that, when it explodes, it doesn’t destroy the city.”  
  
He didn’t want to say it, the grim outcome that would befall anyone still onboard. He had to do this, though. “You need to get off the ship.” He told her, looking away briefly, then looked at her with desperation. “Rapunzel, I got to clean up my own mess.”  
  
“No, _you_ do not have a magic shield of hair that will protect you when this thing _explodes_.” Rapunzel said firmly.  
  
Varian knew what she meant, of course. He’d seen her use it before, when she launched herself off the tower. He’d found it so fascinating to watch, back then. If he hadn’t been so… _messed up_ , he would’ve loved to talk to her about it. The extent she could control her hair…  
  
She suddenly grabbed her hair and wrapped it around him. “What are you doing?” He asked in alarm.  
  
“It’s _your_ mess, but it’s _my_ Kingdom.” She said, tightening the hair’s hold on him and pulling him towards her. Completely bound, he couldn’t do anything to protest.  
  
She suddenly threw him back, the hair slowly unwrapping him as he was lowered down onto a rooftop. He barely registered what happened before the hair was moving away from him. “No!” He ran after it. “Rapunzel!” He cried, reaching desperately. He was forced to stop at the edge of the rooftop and watched helplessly as the airship left his reach.  
  
“No, no, no, no, no…” He ran back and started to climb down onto a lower roof. “No, no, no, no, no…” He looked towards the airship and lowered himself down to the ground, letting out a sharp hiss as he landed awkwardly on the cobblestone. “Rapunzel, no, please…” He started to run after the airship, ignoring the pain in his leg. “Rapunzel, please, no!” He cried, trying to run faster.  
  
This big, Saporian coat was weighing him down. He took it and the gloves off and threw them to the side, chasing the ship. “Rapunzel, please, don’t do this!” He screamed desperately.  
  
Why would she do this? Why would she risk herself to save his life, after all he’d done to her? To her family? Her people? He couldn’t understand it. Tears formed in his eyes as he ran until he couldn’t possibly reach her anymore. He let out a choked sob and fell to his knees, looking up as the ship was taken too far for anyone to reach.  
  
His heart stopped when it exploded, a gruesome green smoke enveloping it. His creation, named after his father, used by the Saporians before it’d been completed as a destructive weapon, had just destroyed someone who surely deserved to live more than he did.  
  
“RAPUNZEL!” He cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.  
  
Something came out of the smoke and his eyes widened. Right…her hair. It was wrapped around her, a big, beautiful, glowing ball of hair. He laughed softly in relief and slowly got up, then gasped when the ball unfurled and Rapunzel started to fall. But, of course, she used her hair to lasso a building and twisted around it with ease out of his sight.  
  
She’d succeeded. His terrible, vile, evil plan had been stopped once again. The Saporians were defeated. He silently walked down the road to the castle, where he went to the lab he’d been working in. He removed his Saporian clothes and put back on the ones he’d been wearing before, then walked down to the dungeons and walked up to his old cell, where a guard was standing out of routine, even if he couldn’t remember why.  
  
“Please, lock me in.” He said softly, holding out his wrists. “Cuff me and lock me up again.”  
  
The guard looked confused, but did as he said, locking handcuffs around his wrists and taking him into the cell to lock him inside. He walked over and sat on the cot, staring at his cuffed wrists, then looked up at the empty cot across from his. Andrew’s old cot.  
  
“’Traitors don’t live in Saporia’…” He muttered. “They don’t really live free in Corona, either.” He leaned back against the wall, sighing.  
  
Ruddiger had disappeared when he started working with the Saporians. He guessed they scared him or something, because he still saw him around, just…distant. He missed him, but he didn’t have to be in here with him. He’d done his time for being an unwitting accomplice. Now it was just Varian that needed to be punished.  
  
He deserved this. Everything. Hell, he deserved the gallows, but he was too young for those. If he was a couple years older…  
  
Besides, he already _knew_ he wouldn’t be _killed_. Not as long as King Fredric saw use in him and wanted to break him.  
  
At least he got to enjoy bossing around _that creep_ for half a year. Small pleasures that would help him sleep at night.  
  
“Varian?”  
  
He looked up with surprise and looked over at Rapunzel outside his cell. “…Rapunzel.”  
  
“What…what is this?” She asked.  
  
“Well, I know you didn’t see it before, but this is where your father put me. Andrew was on the other cot there, and I had Ruddiger, too, but he took off when I went evil again.” Varian shrugged. “Ah, who am I kidding. I never stopped. Maybe I was _born_ that way.”  
  
“Varian, you were not…you were _never evil_. You were hurting, which is completely justifiable, and you were just a boy that had…you’d been hurt _so much_. My broken promises…those rumors my father spread…”  
  
“Mmmm, he did more than _that_ to me. But really, it’s okay. I…I forgive you for breaking your promise. For real, this time. I understand why you did it.” He looked down at his cuffs. “And I understand what I did was wrong. That I deserve this.”  
  
“Well, _I_ say it’s been long enough.” She unlocked his cell and then walked over to unlock his cuffs. “If you still want to make amends, then help me clean up the mess the Saporians made. But, first, I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it.”  
  
His eyes lit up with hope. “You…you found a way to save him?”  
  
“I think so.” She nodded, unlocking his cuffs and taking them off before offering him a hand. “Do you trust me?”  
  
He looked at his wrists, bare of iron, and slowly stepped down off his cot, taking her hand. “I trust you.” He smiled.  
  
She smiled and led him out of the cell, holding his hand the whole way.  
  
\--  
  
They rode on Maximus to Old Corona, Varian holding on tight around her waist as she held the reins. Both of them were full of apprehension. What if this didn’t work? And, if it did, what if his father was dead? Or if he wasn't…what if he disowned Varian? Still…they didn’t let their fear stop them and soon they were passing through the black rock forest.  
  
“You know…I was here, when you went through here before.” He told her.  
  
“What?” She asked.  
  
“When you came to get the graphtych. The black rocks shot out from the tunnels, and I was hiding in them when you started to go through. Was…was pretty fascinating to watch.” He chuckled a bit.  
  
“If you were there…why didn’t I see you?” She asked.  
  
He sighed. “Just another of your father’s secrets, Princess. Those men weren’t there for _you_ , they were watching _me_. They were keeping me away from Corona and, when you arrived, they forced me to stay away from you. You…” He chuckled bitterly. “You set me free when you weakened them at the tower that night.”  
  
Rapunzel’s shoulders slumped a bit. “Varian, I’m _so sorry_ …”  
  
“I don’t think you need to apologize for what your father did. Would be nice to hear one from _him_ someday, though.” Varian said, then laughed bitterly at the very thought. “We both know, though, that won’t happen.”  
  
Rapunzel nodded, sighing. “Let’s…focus on the positive.” She said, Maximus having reached Varian’s home.  
  
Varian got down and walked towards it, staring at it silently. “I…haven’t been back since…” He looked around. All around was evidence of the battle. Broken, impaled automatons, scorch marks on the ground, a music box piece lying near the door. He kicked it to the side and it started to play, making him freeze up.  
  
Rapunzel walked over and stopped it, moving it out of the way. “You didn’t visit?”  
  
“It was…a distraction.” He said, glancing away. “I couldn’t be distracted, not if I was going to succeed.” He opened the door and stepped inside.  
  
“Is that why you covered him up before?” She asked as they walked in.  
  
Varian nodded, walking up to the amber statue, Quirin trapped in suspended motion, clutching at a note Varian couldn’t read.  
  
“Okay…first, we’re going to need some water.” She told him. “Just…fill a bucket.”  
  
He nodded and went behind the building to a well, which he lowered a bucket into before returning to her, the bucket held tightly between his gloved hands, and offered it to her. He wasn’t sure where water came in, but she seemed to know what she was doing.  
  
“Alright.” She nodded, holding the bucket close. “Now, Varian, you need to listen to me _very closely_. Once I start this incantation, I _won’t_ be able to stop it and it could _seriously_ harm you and your father,” she turned to him and handed back the bucket. “so, I am _trusting_ you to _snap me out of it_ once your father is free.” She placed her hands on his shoulder insistently.  
  
Varian had been feeling pretty confused during her whole explanation, but when she said she trusted him to snap her out of it, his eyes widened in surprise that she could trust him to do _anything_ for her and then he smiled with relief.  
  
“You can trust me, Rapunzel.” He assured her.  
  
She knelt to pick up part of her hair, having wrapped a good deal of it around the amber, and held it tightly in her hand. She took a deep breath and then started to chant. “Wither and decay. End this destiny. Break these earthly chains and set the spirit free.”  
  
Varian watched with fascination as her hair turned pitch-black, going from the very ends and up to her roots. She opened her eyes and Varian’s eyes widened as he saw they, too, were pitch-black. Gold started to run in moving streaks through her black hair as it shifted in its own magically-generated wind as he let go of her hair.  
  
‘Okay…that’s different.’ He thought, looking towards his father before letting out a gasp. To his surprise and relief, the amber was melting! “It’s working…” He breathed, then stepped back from the melting amber as she started to sing. “It’s working!”  
  
“ _Wither and decay.”  
  
_ The amber completely melted and he felt pure joy and relief flood through him as his father was not only freed from the amber, but slumped to his knees with a groan. “Dad!” He cried happily, starting to run forward.  
 _  
_“ _End this destiny._ ”  
  
Right, had a job to do first. He turned back around and readjusted the bucket in his arms, preparing to throw the contents on her. _  
  
“Break these earthly chains_ ”  
  
He doused her and then threw the bucket aside, confused when she didn’t stop. “Wake up!” He cried, grabbing her shoulders. “Gah!” He cried out in surprise when his gloves started to melt, leaving his hands bare.  
 _  
_“ _And set the spirit free._ ”  
  
“Rapunzel!” He cried, afraid to try touching her again. “Snap out of it!”  
  
No good. It wasn’t working! She was still in this strange, magical trance, and he couldn’t figure out how to help her!  
  
“Rapunzel…” He breathed, at a complete loss.  
  
‘She’s trusting you to help her…’ He thought urgently. ‘She’s trusting you to snap her out of this.’  
  
He reached out to her, his hand hovering by her face, still afraid to touch her again. “Rapunzel?” He pleaded.  
  
She was completely lost, but at least the singing had stopped. That was…something, right? He drew his hand back, closing his eyes and pursing his lips. “You didn’t give up on me.” He said shakily, then spoke with conviction. “I’m _not_ giving up on you.”  
  
Suddenly, her hair turned blonde from the roots to the ends, Rapunzel letting out a sharp gasp as her eyes returned to normal. She moaned softly as she fell to her knees and he knelt before her, tentatively reaching out a hand to her again. “Are you okay?”  
  
She blinked slowly like she was waking up and then opened her eyes, giving him a smile as she brushed her hair behind her ear. He felt overwhelmed with relief and threw his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around him as he hugged her. “Thank you.” He said, his voice shaking with gratitude. Then he pulled away and ran to his father. “Dad! Dad, you’re alive!”  
  
He stumbled and slid on the melted amber and slid forward into his father’s waiting arms. Feeling his strong, warm arms around him after so long was such a blessing and he clung to him desperately, tears of joy slipping down his cheeks.  
  
He pulled away after a bit and wiped at his eyes, smiling up at his father. “Oh, son.” Quirin said fondly. “  
  
Varian glanced to the side by chance and noticed the note disappearing into the melted amber. “Dad, the note!”  
  
How long had he been seeing that note, never able to read anything but “Son” at the very top?  
  
Before they could even reach for it, it was gone. He looked at it with distress and then at his father. “Well, wha—what did it say? I need to know.” He said anxiously.  
  
Quirin reached up a hand to gently stroke Varian’s hair. “All it said was, ‘I’m so proud of you, Varian. I always have been’.”  
  
Well, _that_ was a bald-faced lie based on the length of the note, but he wasn’t going to argue it. He threw his arms around his father tightly, burying his face in his shoulder. “I love you, dad.” He said softly.  
  
“I love you too, son.” Quirin said, holding him a bit tighter as if to prove it.  
  
He would, of course, have to confess to his father about everything he’d done. He knew that; it wasn’t like he could hide the truth when _everyone in town_ would be talking about it. And there was the question of why he wasn’t ‘seriously harmed’, or even _affected_ , at all during the spell, but that was a question – they were _both_ questions and topics to be figured out later.  
  
For now, he was just so glad to have his father back, and he looked over his shoulder to smile gratefully at Rapunzel as she headed out to leave them alone.  
  
“Thank you.” He said again, before burying his face in his father’s shoulder again.  
  
She nodded and closed the door. “I’ll see you later, Varian.”  
  
\--  
  
They’d come such a long way…but it looked like they were going to be friends again. No more secrets, no more lies, no more pretending, no more broken promises.  
  
Rapunzel walked over and looked at the music boxes before deciding to have these all discarded by the Royal Guard. She didn’t want Varian suffering from the memories every time he tried to clean them up himself. This was one mess he wouldn’t be cleaning up, just like the airship.  
  
She owed him that much.  
  
End

**Author's Note:**

> It's nice to know someone honestly has your back.  
> (Ruddiger rejoined him later.)


End file.
